Laughing, Helgi bent and kissed her.
1965
‘Let’s forget the gun, shall we?’
‘Don’t be stupid. You went to all the trouble of getting hold of it, and… Do you really think anyone will take us seriously without one?’
‘We’ll have, you know, masks…’
‘Balaclavas, yes.’
‘I’m sure that’ll do. It’s not like it’s their money; they’ll give us what we ask for.’
‘Trust me, there has to be some kind of threat.’
‘Yes, but I don’t feel comfortable about the gun.’
‘We’ve already agreed that I would carry it.’
‘It won’t be loaded, will it?’
‘For God’s sake, why not? It has to be loaded, or it’s just a bluff.’
‘OK, you take the gun, then. And you look out for me.’
‘Of course. I’ll always look out for you. It’ll be fine.’
FRIDAY
2012
Friday, 2 November
‘I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I have to ask: was there something going on between you and Elín?’
The look of astonishment on the face of Rut’s husband, Thor, said all that was needed. It was obvious that he hadn’t been prepared for the question.
‘I know it’s an uncomfortable thing to ask, but nothing’s out of bounds in an investigation of this type.’ Helgi spoke with an air of authority, despite his lack of experience in the police.
Thor cleared his throat: ‘No. That’s the short answer. Of course not. We didn’t have that sort of relationship. We were best friends at school and have kept up our friendship ever since. That’s why my wife is her publisher. Elín showed me a draft of her first book and gave me permission to take the manuscript to Rut. They were friends at university. We’ve all known each other a very long time.’ He gave the ghost of a smile. ‘So that’s howit all began, then Elín had her breakthrough, so to speak. Rut’s publishing company was small but grew with Elín until it’s now one of the largest in the country. I don’t suppose it’s easy to find a publisher for one’s first book, but Elín was lucky to have friends with influence.’ He said nothing more for a moment or two, then added: ‘An investigation of this type, you said?’
‘I’m sorry?’ Helgi said.
‘In an investigation of this type – but what kind of investigation is it? Are the police withholding information from us? I’m well aware that nothing’s been heard from Elín for several days, but that on its own isn’t necessarily that remarkable, surely?’
‘Oh? Why do you say that?’
‘The woman’s an artist. She’s always been inventive, full of schemes, ever since we were at school. You never knew what she was going to get up to next. We used to have a lot of fun in the old days.’
This description came as something of a surprise to Helgi. Since Elín had emerged on the scene relatively late, he had never pictured her otherwise than as a respectable, even venerable author. She had lived a quiet life to the best of his knowledge, well away from the gossip columns.
‘Just friends, never anything else?’ Helgi asked, though he’d already had an answer to this question. But he couldn’t shake off the feeling that there must be more to Elín and Thor’s regular meetings than appeared on the surface.
They were sitting in the cafeteria at Thor’s accountancyoffice on Sudurlandsbraut. No one had come in while they were talking and Helgi got the impression that the firm wasn’t exactly busy. Thor was tall, with thick, grey hair and strongly defined features. He would probably be considered quite handsome even now and must have been very striking in his youth.
‘Just friends, yes,’ Thor replied, and Helgi thought he could detect a faint change in his voice, a slight tension perhaps.
‘What sort of things did you discuss when you met up?’
